January 29, 2010

OK, I'm sorry, but I guess you can tell by now I am a little bored after being home for two days!! I've been on my blog and facebook more today than I have in three months. So Sad!!

I decided to make some snow ice cream tonight. Andrew had never heard of snow ice cream and was sooooo excited when I told him I was going to do this for us. So, enjoy:

Here is Andrew enjoying his bowl of Pumpkin Spice Snow Ice Cream. He chose the flavor. He has already informed me that tomorrow we will make more snow ice cream and he wants Peppermint flavored. He's got a plan!!

Now, doesn't that look soooooooo yummy???

We have a little over 7" of snow on the ground and it is STILL falling. My lights are beginning to flicker a bit this evening and it's getting a little scary thinking about the electricity going out. At least our bellies are full of good soup, no bake cookies and snow ice cream!! We are a happy bunch!

With the snow/ice storm still going in full force, my baking/cooking mode has kicked into full gear!! Soooo, I thought I would share a recipe that I have made for probably 10 years. It's so good. Who doesn't enjoy a good bowl of soup when it's cold outside.

Well, I woke up this morning WITH ELECTRICITY and wondered what my eyes would see. Here's what's going on today at our home:

This is how much ice we got at our home. It looks to be 1/4 of an inch to 1/2 inch. It's now snowing and it is B-E-A-UTIFUL!! I am hoping to get some pics later of the beautiful snow. We'll see what I can do. Hope everyone else in the storm has electricity and is enjoying their families!! Those not going through a storm, I pray that you are having a wonderful Friday and remember to enjoy your family!

January 27, 2010

As I've heard and seen all of the hustle and bustle over the past couple of days about the "ice storm" that's coming in tomorrow, I couldn't help but think about our ice storm we had a couple of yrs. ago. We were without power for 10 days!! Yes, you heard me!! 10 days!! I was MISERABLE!! The kids had gone to their dads house and got stuck there because I was NOT going to get out and drive an hour away to get them. I spent most of my days at my neighbor's house because they had a generator. I call her Momma Linda because she's like a mother to me! When we moved here to Oklahoma in 1986, my mother and Linda became super close friends. Ever since then we have had a family friend in her and her family. It's a very close bond and I love every minute of it!! I was on the phone with her yesterdy asking if she was ready for us. She started laughing and proceeded to let me know the generator is out and ready!! YAY!! No worries this time!

I have already spoke to our bus drive about my plans tomorrow and her plans tomorrow. Wood is on the back porch ready to be thrown into the fireplace. Fridge is stocked and so is the pantry. I believe we are ready to brave whatever comes our way!! I can't help but have a tiny thought in the back of my head about it not doing very much. Every indication is there that it's going to be bad. I guess we will see! Enjoy today because if tomorrow plays out as predicted...we're in for a doosie!!

January 25, 2010

"Hello, yeah, it's been a while...Not much, how 'bout you?" - Name that tune??

I figured it has been several days and maybe I should sit down and write a new post to my blog that I sometimes neglect. Last week at the Conner-Mock Blend was a pretty laid back week. We don't get those very often so when I do get a chance to "lay-back", I don't know when to stop!! I lazed around all weekend and decided it was time to get some type of motivation so I could do my grocery shopping and laundry and organize at least one room. Caleb and I went out Saturday to get groceries and 5 HOURS later, we came home...haha! We had sooo much fun! He was a little bored but oh well.....mommy had help, someone to talk to and she was a happy camper. After that I decided to start some laundry and ATTEMPT to organize the laundry room (which turns into the catch-all room at times). I started but didn't completely finish. That's on the plans to do this week during our down time.

During the weekend I started reading a book that I found on my Kindle. Yeah, I dont' remember buying it BUT, it was on there and it struck my interest. The title of the book is: Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and Not Be Overwhelmed by Carolyn Mahaney (from the blog girltalk). She has some great ideas in this book about reigning ourselves in and slowing down so we can focus on what the most important thing is in our lives - Time Spent in Communion with God.

They have what they called a "5AM Club". Her and her three daughters started this several years ago together. They made a commitment to wake up at 5AM, everyday, to sit at Jesus' feet and schedule their day. How great!! Yes, I've known others who have done this same thing and Yes, I've attempted a version before but, after reading some things out of this book, it really brought it back to my attention that I needed to do something like this. Here is a small excerpt from the book which really drew me in and made this 5AM club something that I needed desperately to attempt and succeed at:

"I knew I needed to wake up earlier, but I kept telling myself that I'd never be able to do it. I dreaded the thought of failing yet again. Then it occurred to me that I made time for other things I considered important such as grocery shopping, showering, doing my makeup, eating, date night with my husband, spending time with friends. Was my love for God truly my highest priority? The realization: My daily schedule was not reflective of a heart set on seeking God first. I needed to take radical measures. If I was going to have consistent and quality time with the Lord, it would need to happen before the rest of the family was up and before the day was rolling."

How true that holds for me!! I can schedule and schedule and manipulate time around to fit anything and everything that my little heart desires but when it comes to spending that quality consistent time with the Lover of my Soul, I can't seem to do it. How unfair we treat God who loves us so unconditionally!! I've always said that I was a night owl. I'm not a morning person. In this book she makes a very valid point by arguing this point:

"I have heard of women who pride themselves on being 'night people'. That means they have trouble getting up in the mornings because they come alive at night. They may stay up till all hours reading, watching television, or pursuing some sort of interest. The next morning they are too tired to get up and care for their family...These women are not 'night people'. They are lazy and selfish. Who would not rather stay up late to do whatever they please and sleep late the next day?"

WOW! Seriously...mouth is open on the floor, I have two black eyes from being beat by this statement and WOW!! Guilty, guilty and guilty!!

Soooo, I am going to attempt (and succeed) this 5AM club. I must say I set my alarm this morning for 5AM and have to admit with shame that I went back to bed. I felt so ashamed and guilty after I woke up this morning. I put God on the backburner and traded him for sleep. What am I doing?? I've got to get this right! Soooo, with all sincerity, if anyone would like to join me or even help keep me accountable on this, I would owe you big time! I've got to change the way I am, who I have become and what I am headed for. I have a hunger and a deep desire for something more and the mortal inside of me is kicking and screaming relentlessly against all of this change!

Pray for me and God's guidance in my life at this time! I pray for all of my friends and bloggy friends out there that you would find that time to commune with God and create a CLUB of your own! God Bless!!

January 21, 2010

Well, as you read by my previous post, I have been fighting a sickness with my youngest child. By the time I got home on Monday evening, his fever had returned!! Yes, returned! What a slap in the face!! Soooo, I decided that I would HAVE to take him to the Dr. on Tuesday. I knew it was going to be fruitless because the only symptom he had was a fever and an occasional cough - which I blame on his asthma.

Would you believe that when we went to the Dr. and they ran a few tests, that poor child of mine had been battling strep for 5 whole days!!!??? I was utterly confused. No sore throat but he has strep. I'd never heard of that. Then I began feeling guilty for not taking him in earlier. He got antibiotics started and has been great ever since!! What a heel I felt like! Oh well, win some, lose some. Now the hubby is battling something. Don't know if he has the same but he had a fever and chills all day yesterday while in meetings in Houston and came home to collapse in bed and sweat it out. He said he felt better this morning but still a little weak. Oh the intercession going on in our home for myself and my daughter not to get sick is strong!

I do want to put in a TINY remark about my weight watchers weigh in on Monday. When I say TINY, I mean TINY. I knew it was going to be a bad week. I didn't expect to have lost anything and I thought for sure I would have gained back what I lost last week. I actually lost!!! yay! ha..I actually lost .2 lbs. You saw that right - .2!!! I had to laugh! I guess something is better than nothing right? Anyway, back on track this week. I'm watching things closely!!

January 18, 2010

My baby started not feeling well during the wee morning hours on Thursday. He had no symptoms except for a croupy cough and a sore throat (probably from coughing so much). He looked a little sullen in the eyes and really pale so I let him stay home from school. He looked so pitiful laying around all day playing his Xbox and watching TV. That's about all he had the energy to do. He told me all he wanted was a bowl of grits to eat and that is all he had all day long. Poor guy!! By the next morning (Friday) he had developed that fever and his sore throat had cleared up and his cough had gotten lighter. Knowing there was nothing that the Dr's could do, I decided to just fight it with Tylenol and wait this virus out.

I am glad to report that he fought that fever all weekend and by Sunday mid morning it was gone! YAY! He still has this awful cough and we've got basketball games going this week. Bummer! Don't know if I should let him play. He is the type of child that doesn't like to miss school. Not because he loves school but because he HATES make up work! He would rather go to school not feeling well than miss and have homework. He's so bright and fast with schoolwork that he never ever brings home homework. He does it all in class. The teacher has often told me that he can't possibly be finishing his work accurately at that speed. She has even called him up to her desk on several occasions to check his work and he is spot on with every item on the work. She's amazed and so am I!! What a great kid!!! Sorry, just had to brag on my boy for a moment!

With a sick child in the house, there wasn't much of a weekend for us. My daughter was the one galavanting around everywhere. She went to an overnight birthday bash on Friday (right after school) and I didn't see her again until Saturday night around 10:30 when she came back from the movies. My little social bug!! She then brought home a friend from church to stay with us Sunday afternoon. My dear hubby got up and took her to church with him on Sunday morning while I stayed with the sick one and I went Sunday night while he stayed home with the sick one. Pretty good trade off, I thought! All in all, as I said before, not much going on around the Conner home.

Now this week could prove to be a different story. Right now, not a super busy schedule but at any moment that could all start crumbling in on us!! Kids are out of school today (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) and a basketball tournament (not sure if we will participate) and a few physical therapy appts. sprinkled in and I believe that's about it for us! What a relief to know that we might be able to enjoy a few nights at home.

January 14, 2010

I struggled for a long time last night whether to post this or not. I laid in bed praying and asking God for guidance. I do feel a release in my spirit to post this to share with you and hopefully inspire you to do the same!!

Several weeks or months back Pastor was preaching and told a story of a gentleman who was in a drive thru at a fast food place and asked the gal at the window if she would please let me pay for the car behind him. He started a chain reaction and ten cars later it ended. How cool!! I thought that was such a great idea! Why have I never thought of that?? Probably because when I am in a drive thru I am thinking of no one else but my stomach!! I sat in that service and filed that story away in my mental file box so I could pull it out and use it myself to bless someone. Wouldn't you know that my selfish stomach mode kicked in again and I would always think about it days down the road. Everytime I would think about it I would feel kind of bummed and I started praying that God would just open that idea up in my mind when the time was right.

A few days ago I had to go and get my boss' glasses fixed. While there, this wonderful older woman fixed them for me. I asked her what I owed her and she promptly said with a smile, "A LOT OF GOOD WILL". That stuck with me. What a beautiful thought! (this will tie in, I promise!)

Last night, after physical therapy, I decided to drive thru a local fast food place to grab a Diet Dr. Pepper. I was on my way to the church to walk the inside track for an hour and thought it would be nice to have a drink. While sitting in line, after ordering, a warm feeling came all over me and the thought was immediately brought to my attention. The Lord knows when things need to occur. My human nature immediately started the questioning. "What if her order is $50.00?" "She's driving an Escalade, why should I pay for her meal?" Isn't it funny how we pray for something to happen, God allows that moment and then we question it? I immediately scolded myself and promptly obeyed the spirit. I don't know who she is or why I was called to purchase her meal, but I left with tears running down my face praying for the woman behind me in line and her family. Who knows? We never know what is going on in the hearts and minds of individuals that we pass by every day. She followed me ALL THE WAY to where I turned into church. Maybe this was just to show her a church door? Who knows? We may never know but I can tell you that my heart and spirit are rich this morning after doing a good deed.

I struggled with posting this because I do not want to come across as bragging by any means. My intentions for this post are to encourage you all that are reading this post to do the same in some way today or the next few days. Pay it forward, bless someone today or tomorrow...Give A LOT OF GOOD WILL (I told you it would tie in) to some random individual! You never know what something so small will do for someone else! God bless!!

January 12, 2010

As you can tell, I'm not much of a blogger on the weekends. We get so busy sometimes that when I'm home on the weekends just chilling, I don't even get on the computer.

Week 1 with Weight Watchers went very well. I hope you saw my progress as I posted every day last week about it. I weighed in on Monday (yesterday) and had lost 1.5 lbs. YAY ME!! I didn't feel like YAY ME when I weighed in. I had gotten my hopes up and expected "great things". A friend of mine reminded me that it was a victory...no matter how small..Thanks, Nicole!

I do NOT expect great things for next weigh in because of the fact I am hosting two dinner meetings at work. The boss has chosen two of my favorite, favorite restaurants and I am watching my portion control by splitting my meals up and taking a to go box immediately BUT the creme brulee will have to be completely devoured! I figure I've got bonus points to use and I only used 10 of them last week. Soooo, my reward is Creme Brulee. I rewarded myself with Chocolate Cheesecake last night. I only ate about 1/3 of it (if that much) and boxed the rest to take to my hubby. I'm practicing self control. The rest of the week I will be very diligent and no more rewards...not even on Sunday! :-)

There is hardly anything going on in our schedules this week (besides myself). There are no games scheduled, practice was cancelled last night, Hannah will have guitar lessons tonight, Drew will have basketball practice Thursday night and aside from Jeff and I having our Physical Therapy appointments and me doing the dinner meetings and weight watcher meeting on Mon & Tue, we are free the rest of the week. Feels kind of nice to have a clean slate. Whatever will I do? Well, let me tell you: First, I will be able to go home after work and cook a meal. Then we can all have a little family time, some quiet time, and some reading time - WHAT?!?!?! I still feel that the holidays have not slowed down. I bounded into 2010 with a tight schedule and I believe I am seeing it FINALLY dissolve somewhat. I love the January lull.

January 8, 2010

Well, day 4 was my worst yet!! My sweet sugar munchies came to visit me pretty much all day long!! I really had to push myself not to grab things to shove into my mouth. I was starving all day!!! I bought some of the WW frozen meals when we grocery shopped the night before and had one for lunch. It just wasn't filling enough for me, I guess. Not to mention my DoubleTree Hotel rep came by with a HUGE platter of DoubleTree cookies. If you've never had one of those then God bless you! They are divine!! I do want everyone to know that the 2 dozen cookies have sat in my office for two days now and I haven't had a single bite! That's quite amazing for me. Before I would've downed 4 or 5 in a sitting. They're not small either. Through all of this I have realized that I don't want to grow up!! I want to eat whatever I want whenever I want *laying on the floor kicking and screaming*! Pardon my fit there!! ha

After being at work all day and having to resist the urges to grab food and shove it in my mouth, I made my way home a little earlier than usual. I thought if I got home and grabbed a 1 point bar that I could cook and be fine...NOT SO MUCH! I cooked dinner for the kiddos and hubby and then prepared myself to leave for Bunco - YAY BUNCO!! Uh-oh...what am I going to eat there? Great! I guess this is the big hassle with WW. It was nice though because two of my WW buddies are in the same bunco group. It was hilarious to me that everyone of us was weighing out points and asking how much this was. Armed with my iPhone, the WW calculator was burning up!! What a great app!!!! All in all I think we all three did really well. I know by the time I went to bed and put in everything on my tracker, I had eaten every single point and not gone over for the day. This was truly a hump day for me on my road in WW. I even ended my day with a sizeable brownie - YAY ME!!

The game shall continue! Hope all are having a fabulous start to their 2010 year! I know my start of 2010 was not ideal but it is climbing daily into that realm of strength. I can't wait to see where I am by the end. God is a great God!! Ciao!

January 7, 2010

Well, I'm onto my 4th day with Weight Watchers. It has gone very well thusfar and I am enjoying playing the WW game.

Day 2 - I was soooo proud of myself that I accomplished a day on WW and wasn't able to use every little point. I think I actually did too well. I am still new at this so there could be a point or two that I missed. Just sometimes don't remember every detail of what you're putting in your mouth...that's a bad habit!! I actually went to bed on Day 2 with 4 points not even eaten. I just couldn't eat anymore! So, I had 17 of my 21 points.

Day 3 - A little bit of a different story - ha!! I had a friend call, that I worked with a few years ago, wanting to take me to lunch. Her and I decided to visit this quaint little restaurant in Utica Square called The Wild Fork. What a fancy shmancy place!! The food is divine!!!!! I blew it because I was just unknowledgable about things. I thought I was doing OK until I got to recording my points on my tracker. Uh-Oh!! I only had a small bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup and a Spinach Salad. Still don't understand why that put me over so much.....MAYBE IT WAS THE SLICE OF HOMEMADE BREAD & THE YUMMY BUTTER ROLL I ATE??????? - NAH!! ha!! Needless to say, I used 27.5 pts that day & had to dip into my 35 weekly bonus points.

Day 4 - I'm back up and at 'em this morning and on track for the day...MORE TO COME!!

Now for the ramblings... I'm back onboard with a busy schedule. Yesterday about kicked my booty!! I have been preparing for some major meetings we are having next week in our office. Yesterday felt like it was going to be my Friday because of the "prediction" of bad weather moving in and bitter temps. Soooo, I ran around here like a chicken with my head cut off and missing a limb. (oh the visual!) By the time I took a breath, I realized it was time for me to leave and go to my Physical Therapy appointment. From the rush, my eyes were already beginning to tear up. I apologized to my PT guy & told him if he saw a tear or two run down my face to please ignore me!! hee-hee Sometimes when I rush so much and finally sit down to rest, it's like my body opens up a dam that's been holding all of that energy in and it just comes out in tears. I did well, though...just some eye watering.....YAY ME!! (as London would say) As soon as I left therapy, hubby was waiting for me at ... wait for it ... DUM DUM DUM (scary music) ... WAL MART!!!!!!!!!! We hadn't gone grocery shopping since before Christmas...I know, I know!! We stocked up before the blizzard and also had all of the holiday leftovers to eat on. There were no kids around and we also took off to Kansas for a short trip over the New Years weekend. Soooo, needless to say, we were going to starve if the storm moved in. I had just about an hour to spend with him and make sure he got the right things (now that I'm on WW). I think that urked him a bit...poor guy! Before I knew it, it was time to squeal my tires & run to church. So, I left him to finish up AND to pay and went to church. We got out a little early because of the "prediction" and went to Reasors to grab a few items that Wal-Mart did not have. We arrived at home sweet home around 9:00. Just in time to sit down with a bowl of cereal (supper...bad mom) and chill out for about an hour. The kids' school was already out so, they stayed up until who knows when and I in my kerchief....oh wait...not anymore Christmas...rewind...I slipped into my warm PJ's and watched one 30 minute show and then went to night night land anticipating a cold, slippery morning. WHEW - What a day!!

When I woke this morning - from a text my hubby sent me - I was informed that nothing really happened last night! SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!!! That meant I HAD to go to work...SHOOT! I was already mentally shut down for the week. Should've known! The temps did drop drastically and it is very, very cold...just not as cold as they thought. So, here we go on another tumultuous ride for the day! I'm sure there will be more to report tomorrow.

I do pray for safety for all in this cold, bitter weather and if you have snow and ice, safety through that, also! God bless ya'll out in BloggyLand!

January 5, 2010

It has begun!!! The big WW is swimming around in my head, stomach, legs, arms...YES, I've started Weight Watchers. I did it not to lose tons of weight (I need to lose some) but to make this a lifestyle change. My late 30's has not been very nice to me...not to mention no thyroid! YIKES!

Last night was my first meeting and I learned quite a bit. I had never truly known how Weight Watchers worked. Very eye opening. Today has been like a game for me. Stay under my points, how can I get all of my points in a day and still stay satisfied. Just like a puzzle! I've done pretty well so far. I have 21 pts a day I can eat and I've eaten only 9 of them. I have 12 that I can have tonight. Pretty good for my first day.

There was one little "snag" today! I didn't know if I would be able to do it, but I made it work!! A Bible College friend was in town and wanted to have lunch with me and another blog friend of mine - well, ours. I mentioned this in my blog yesterday. Well, we all decided Olive Garden - OH NO!!!!! The pasta was calling my name...but I stayed calm and did the soup and salad thing. Not too shabby!! We had soooo much fun!!! It was great to catch up with Lori and Loren!

Oh what fun it is to catch up on old times!! Lori, you're still such a jewel! Best of luck in your new adventures for 2010!!! Loren, a friend that I live by and don't get to see enough of!! Peace in the year 2010!

What a start to a great new year! **Running around giddy with excitement**

January 4, 2010

I was reading one of my friends blogs this morning, Girly Muse, and she was saying how 2010 (back when we were young) was one of those sci-fi sounding years that seemed forever away and we would all be flying around in Jetson cars. I too thought that when I was small. Look at us now!!! We're not flying around at all. Sometimes the technology that we have makes me wonder how much closer we are to flying ourselves around.

Speaking of Girly Muse, Lori and I went to college together. I haven't seen her since we returned from our 1993 Choir Tour. It has been 16 years (WOAH)!! I recently caught up with her via facebook and blogging. She's still the same Lori that I knew in college - Funny, Quirky, Cute as a button, talented and So Super Sweet!! I am soooo excited to say that I will be having lunch with her tomorrow (on my turf!!). Don't even have to travel to Minnesota in January! She emailed myself and Loren, another blogger and real life friend of mine, to let us know she would be in our area. We are going to have a fabulous lunch at Olive Garden and catch up on old times and new times!! I CAN'T WAIT!!! Can you say excited???? She doesn't even know how great this timing is for me to have something like this happen.

Moving on - 2010 is here and the resolutions are flying out of people's mouths left and right. I'm not a great resolution person. Reading other blogs this morning, I find myself not an unusual one conerning resolutions. I have made many over the years and have yet to stick to one. This year I am not doing the typical cliche resolution of weight loss or anything like that. I am, however, joining a weight watchers group (TONIGHT) with a few other girls from my church. We have decided to make this a group effort so we can be accountable to each other and also becaue it's just more fun that way!!! I am needing to lose some wieght but refuse to call it my resolution. I want my resolution to show a healthier lifestyle with my eating and exercise. I don't want to put limits on myself. I don't want to say I want to lose this much weight as my resolution and then fail. It really kind of gets me down when I can't do things I want to do. Soooo, I figured that Maybe, Just Maybe, this would be the way to do it!!

Another Improvement I pray to make this year is with my blogging, meal planning, tv time, spending habits, family time and home. As I'm sitting here typing this I'm realizing that I want to change a lot of things. Is this going to overwhelm me and I will come screaming out of January with hands pulling frazzled hair hollering, "I GIVE UP!!!!"? Surely not! That, my friend, is how I have actually felt though over the past 3 months. I feel like there are millions of things floating through my head all day long! Too much to do....too many places to be...too much, too much, too much!!!! I could probably add on to that list that I want to read more this year and that I want to simplify how we live. To tell you the truth, I could sit here for hours and add to the list...there I go getting overwhelmed again!! I'd best stop right there!!

On to other things: We had a wonderful New Year's Eve. It was actually pretty uneventful. We were invited to join another family at Osaka's for dinner. That turned out to be quite entertaining. They overbooked the place and we had to wait for an hour and a half (even though we had reservations). There was a lot of mad, screaming people and at one point a fight was about to break out. Interesting night! All in all an uneventful new year's eve. Jeff and I were home by 11 and in bed by 11:30 watching the NYC festivities. We left the next morning for a fast and furious trip to Kansas. We had to deliver a smoker to his uncle and decided to make a short weekend vacation out of it. It was just okay for me. Sure missed my bed, my chair, my recliner and just being home. I'm such a home body at times. It's rather sad!!

I have added something new to my schedule this year. I am going to be reviewing books on my blog. I am so excited about being a part of 3 different programs. Stay tuned - more to come on that!!

About Me

I am a wife and mother of three beautiful children. I struggle daily with the juggling of schedules. Our blended family has its major ups and downs and we try as best we can to be the Christian family we need to be. We tend to run the roads A LOT and forget to take much needed time for ourselves. This blog is just a tiny glimpse into the Chaotic Conner Blend. Enjoy!